


At the Curtain of the Waterfall

by bar2d2s



Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: F/M, Post-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 21:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3356567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bar2d2s/pseuds/bar2d2s
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Traditions can be altered, and still be meaningful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the Curtain of the Waterfall

**Author's Note:**

> I miss beach weather, 40 degrees is not what Florida is all about.

"So, summer starts soon." Marianne said one night, as the two of them sat watching the moonflowers bloom.

It had been a casual comment from her, but by now, Bog knew her well enough to hear the underlying hint.

"Aye? And what kind of party will you be wanting me to crash this time?"

Over the course of spring, there had been numerous parties, balls, and festivals that Marianne, as princess and heir to the throne, was duty-bound to attend. She’d taken great pleasure in convincing him to sneak in, and he’d taken equal pleasure in seeing the look on her father’s face when he turned around and suddenly, Bog was there. A rumor had started that Marianne could summon her terrifying beau at will, a strange, old magic that only worked on royals. Neither of them were in any hurry to debunk it.

She laughed, carding her hand through her hair. “Oh, nothing like that. I mean, it’s a tradition, but it’s not a big event or anything. In fact, it’s usually just me, Dawn, and Sunny.” That piqued his interest.

Apparently, the elf went way back with both of the sisters, had been Dawn’s best friend since their childhood. A tradition that was just the three of them…that was special. Personal. Certainly more of a big deal than some pesky party.

"Planning on telling me more about it?" Marianne flashed him a sly smile, and he had to remind himself to breathe.

"How about I just tell you when, and you come?" Oh, so she was in a _playful_  mood. He grinned, teeth on display, and her wings twitched.

"Just give me a time and a place, tough girl."

* * *

The time ended up being mid-morning, a week later. The place was, surprisingly, the border between the Fairy Kingdom and the Dark Forest. Bog stood in the shade, leaning against a tree. Until his companions showed their faces, he planned on staying in his own territory. The thought made him feel less nervous.

He and Marianne didn’t often meet during the day. They both had their own responsibilities, and he wasn’t actually fond of direct sunlight. Too bright. Too…open. Marianne was beautiful at any hour, but the dark worked in his favor, obscuring his less-attractive features. Hopefully, he wouldn’t scare anyone on this little outing.

Loud chatter snapped him out of his thoughts, and his jaw dropped as he spotted the cause.

Sunny didn’t look any different from the last time he’d seen him, but Dawn and Marianne were both, well. Both had discarded their usual dresses and breeches and boots for lighter dresses made of spider silk, and underclothes made of petals. Marianne’s sword, still at her hip, was the only trace of her normal attire, even her makeup was missing. With a blush, he recognized Marianne’s underclothes as a flower that grew in the Dark Forest, but Dawn’s were unfamiliar. Speaking of-

"Boggy!" Her voice cut through the air like a dagger made of sugar He shuddered at the nickname, and again when she hit him with a hug.

"Bog." He corrected firmly, peeling her off his arm. "Now, I assume that the time for secrets has passed?" Dawn turned her wide blue eyes on her sister.

"You invited him and didn’t tell him where we were going?" Marianne bit her lip, desperately trying to hold back a smile. "Marianne! How could you?! No wonder he isn’t excited!" Excited?

"Now hold on a minute." He protested. "She told me it was a summer tradition you three shared, and I’m," His mouth twisted in distaste. "Very  _honored_  to be invited.” The three light fae stared at him, and Bog felt his face get hot.

Then they started laughing.

"Well! If I’m going to be insulted, I’ll just go home. To  _bed_. Where _sensible_  folk are at this hour of the day!” He snarled, turning on his heel. But before he could stalk off, Marianne was on him, arms around his waist. “ _What_?!”

"Bog," She said, laughter still in her voice. "You’re making a bigger deal out of this than I thought you would. It’s just swim day." His brows knit together.

"Swim day?" At the sound of the phrase, Dawn launched herself into the air, spinning and looping excitedly, singing it over and over. "Okay, I’ll bite. Swim day?" Marianne jerked her thumb back at her wings.

"See these? They’re beautiful, durable, tough…but not very useful when they’re wet, which is why for the most part, fairies don’t swim. When we were little, Sunny was so amazed that neither of us knew _how_  to swim, that he decided to teach us. He was the one who figured out a foolproof method for keeping our wings dry, too.” She flapped a sleeve of her dress, and behind her, Sunny pulled several spools of the same material out of his pack. “Water slides right off spider silk, but it’s hard to get on and off, so we don’t do it often. Once a year is enough. So now, every year at the beginning of summer, we wrap up our wings and have a swim day.”

She went quiet, and for a few moments, they just looked at each other. Then Bog coughed.

"So! Swimming. In the water? I’m assuming you aren’t going to do it in the brook." Her entire frame relaxed, and he smiled. "I won’t have to wrap my wings, though. They handle water just fine."

* * *

Their secret swimming spot certainly met his expectations. Further down the brook was a small waterfall with a standing pool, that fed into a second, smaller brook that lead elsewhere. It was peaceful, and Bog felt himself relaxing as soon as they got there.

Then Marianne and Dawn casually stripped off their outer dresses, hanging them on a branch where they would be safe, and easily fetched. While Sunny was distracted by the sight of Dawn flitting around above the water, Marianne reached into his pack for a roll of spider silk, which she handed to Bog.

"Usually Dawn does it but…would you mind?" He took the spool wordlessly, and she presented her back to him, wings folded. "You have to wrap each wing from the root out, then wrap them together." She explained, and he winced.

"Isn’t that uncomfortable?" Marianne shrugged, shivering as he started to wind the material around her left wing. 

"A little, at first. It pinches, but it doesn’t really hurt. It’s just heavy, mostly. Besides, being in the water is worth it." The sound of laughter met their ears. Sunny was distracting Dawn from her discomfort by tickling her every time he saw her wince. Marianne sighed, smiling. 

"I’m glad you agreed to come. It’s always been the three of us as friends. With them together, this year would have been." She bit her lip. "Different. I mean, it’s different  _now_ , but in a good way.” He laughed, winding the silk around both wings, binding them together.

"Are you two done yet?!" Dawn dashed over, slightly off-balance without the usual support her open wings provided. Behind her, Bog could see Sunny removing his shoes and overalls, leaving him in his shirt and underclothes. He patted Marianne’s wings as he tied off the material.

"Now we are." She replied, and Dawn squealed. "Go on ahead, I know the waiting is killing you." With a quick hug to her sister, Dawn was off again, running past Sunny and directly into the water. She let out a happy shriek, and vanished.

Bog started forward in alarm, dropping his staff to the sand, but Marianne pulled him back. “Just wait.” She said, pointing at the water. Almost a full minute later, Dawn burst through the surface, calling for Sunny to hurry up and join her. “She lives for this. Swim day is her favorite day of the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if she and Sunny started doing more swim days without me, soon.” She sighed, then turned to him. “Come on, let’s go!”

The bits of his armor that actually came off hit the ground quickly, though he left some parts on for modesty’s sake. Marianne held out her hand. “Ready?”

They ran to the water together, yelling as they dove in.

* * *

Hours passed in a blur of laughter and song. Sunny’s pack had been large enough to accommodate a lunch for all of them, and they lay on a nearby rock as they ate.

"I can’t quite figure it out." He commented, gesturing at Dawn. "Marianne snuck some flowers out of the Dark Forest to make her suit, but yours? I’ve never even seen them before." Dawn giggled, and Sunny ducked his head. She put her hand on her hip, plucking at the bright yellow petals that covered her.

"They’re called sunflowers, and they’ve always been my favorites." The tips of Sunny’s ears were going red. "I make a new suit out of them every year!"

Bog and Marianne exchanged glances, biting back smiles. He’d bet anything Sunny had been the one to introduce those particular blooms into her life.

After a while, they went back into the water. It wasn’t much longer before the sun began to set, and Bog realized with a start that he’d been away from his kingdom all day. No one had sought him out, so there probably hadn’t been any catastrophes he needed to tend to. In all, his day off had been relaxing and even…fun.

It was only when Dawn began to yawn that Marianne declared swim day over.

There were a few tired, half-hearted complaints, but in the end, she dutifully turned her back so Sunny could unwrap her wings. Marianne turned her back to Bog as well.

"Just rip through the top layer, I won’t get hurt." 

Removing the spider silk was a faster process than putting it on, and soon they were both flying off to retrieve their dresses, a poor guard against the cool night air. Her renewed sense of flight gave Dawn a bit of energy back, and soon they were flying back to the border, Sunny held tightly in her arms.

At the border, the other couple conveniently distracted themselves, to give Bog and Marianne some privacy.

"So that was swim day." He remarked, a fond smile on his face. Marianne ducked her head bashfully.

"Yeah. Kinda silly, but still more fun than any big event, right?"

They were quiet for a few minutes, then began to talk at the same time.

"So-"

"I was thinking-"

They stopped, flushing. From a few feet away, Dawn called out, “Just go back with him, I’ll cover for you tomorrow.”

"Tomorrow?" Marianne and Sunny exclaimed in unison, and she giggled.

"Yeah…I don’t really feel like going home just yet, either."

A wide grin came over Sunny’s face, and Marianne shuddered. There were some thoughts about her little sister that she just was  _not_  ready to have. Bog proved to be a welcome distraction, taking her by the hand.

"So long as you both end up safe in your own beds eventually your father shouldn’t have anything to complain about. Marianne?" He gestured at the woods. She pulled her hand away, flitting back to give her sister a hug and whisper something in her ear that made the other girl screech with embarrassment.

"Okay,  _now_  I’m ready!” She laughed, flying past him into the Dark Forest. Bog looked back at Dawn’s pink face, then forward at Marianne’s rapidly disappearing wings, and sighed, taking off after her. He was tired, and the sooner they got back to his castle, the sooner he’d be able to have a good, long nap.

"Bye, Boggy!" He heard Dawn call to him. "Thanks for having swim day with us!"

For once, he let her get away with the nickname. Going back to correct her was just too much effort.

He caught up with Marianne near the castle, hooking his staff into the loose hem of her dress and pulling her backwards. She folded her wings, falling into his arms without hesitation, and his heart skipped a beat.

"We’re sleeping." He said into her ear as he flew them directly to his bedroom. "We are sleeping, and if anyone comes to disturb us, you can cut off their head."

Marianne snorted, unhooking her sword from her belt and standing it up next to his bed. She also shrugged off her dress, letting it crumple to the floor. The petals stayed, he noticed, and a small shiver went up his spine. After she left, his entire bed would smell like fresh water and flowers for days.

She cleared her throat, already settled down beneath his blanket. “You coming?” Bog unhooked his armor faster, leaving it in a small pile that no one would trip over and flying over to the bed.

They curled around each other, her face pressed to his chest, listening to the low thump of his heartbeat. “I had… _fun_  today.” He confessed, and felt her smile. 

"Yeah, we all did. Thanks for being part of my favorite tradition, Bog." He buried his face in her still-damp hair, desperate to feel something cool on his warm cheeks.

"You’re very welcome, Marianne. Perhaps, perhaps come the winter, I can introduce you to some of mine."

If she’d said anything, he couldn’t hear it. Her breathing soon evened out, and he smiled. “Goodnight, Marianne.” Bog said with a yawn, following her off into her dreams.


End file.
